A  REPORT 


ON 

SUPPLYING  THE  CITY  OF  OSWEGO 
WITH  WATER, 

MADE  TO  THE  MAYOR  AND  COMMON  COUNCIL 


WM. 

BY 

J.  MoALPINE, 

Civil  Engineer, 

SEPTEMBER,  1866. 

"♦  »■ 

OSWEGO: 

C.  MORRISON  &  CO.j  PRINTERS. 

1866. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/reportonsupplyinOOmcal 


REPORT. 


5  5  7L.  U 

M  U  /o 


An  abundant  supply  of  pure  and  wholesome  water  is  ne¬ 
cessary  to  the  health,  comfort  and  prosperity  of  a  city,  and 
the  superior  econon:^,  quality  and  convenience  of  a  public 
water  supply  are  now  so  generally  appreciated,  that  there  are 
but  few  of  our  Northern  American  cities,  or  even  villages, 
but  what  are  supplied  in  this  manner. 

The  advantages  of  a  public  water  supply  are — 

1.  That  it  furnishes  a  better  quality  of  water  than  can  be 
obtained  by  any  except  a  few  of  the  most  wealthy  citizens, 
and  then  only  in  peculiar  and  unusual  cases. 

2.  That  the  quantity  supplied  is  so  much  greater  and  so 
readily  accessible,  that  it  encourages  the  free  use  of  water 
among  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  and  consequently  dimin¬ 
ishes  one  large  class  of  diseases,  and  in  this  aspect  alone  saves 
to  the  community  a  sum  frequently  equal  to  the  interest  on 
the  whole  cost  of  the  works. 

3.  It  furnishes  an  abundant  supply  of  water  at  all  times 
for  the  extinguishment  of  fires,  so  convenient  and  accessible 
that,  in  most  cases,  the  household  can  put  out  the  small  be¬ 
ginnings  of  a  fire  which,  in  a  short  time,  would  defy  the  ef¬ 
forts  of  the  whole  fire  department.  Almost  every  city  and 
village  in  our  land  has  been  visited  with  one  or  more  of  those 
extensive  conflagrations,  which  have  destroyed  more  property 
than  the  cost  of  water  works  constructed  on  the  most  liberal 
scale.  It  is  true  that  large  conflagrations  sometimes  occur 
in  places  supplied  with  water,  but  it  is  self  evident  that  the 
liability  to  such  disasters  is  much  lessened  by  having  on  hand 
an  abundant  supply  of  water.  From  these  considerations  it 
will  be  apparent  that  the  rates  of  insurance  on  property 
against  losses  by  fire  will  be  materially  lessened,  and  thus, 
indirectly,  contribute  largely  towards  the  repayment  of  the 
cost  of  the  work. 


'-\Aaa~4l <L> 


4 


4.  The  charges  for  the  use  of  water  are  less  than  the  ag¬ 
gregate  cost  of  the  same  quantity  obtained  by  individuals 
from  wells  and  cisterns.  There  can  be  no  question,  there¬ 
fore,  but  that  a  public  supply  is  the  most  economical  method 
of  furnishing  water  to  a  compactly  located  population. 

5.  An  ample  supply  of  pure  water  encourages  settlements 
and  investments,  and  is  indispensable  for  certain  kinds  of 
manufactories,  while  the  absence  of  such  a  supply  will  pro¬ 
bably  divert  more  business  from  the  city  than  the  cost  of  the 
works. 

The  city  of  Oswego  presents  unusual  facilities  for  procur¬ 
ing  a  bountiful  supply  of  the  purest  water,  and  it  is  remark¬ 
able  that  with  the  experience  of  the  past  losses  and  the  deci¬ 
sion  of  other  places,  larger  and  smaller,  that  the  determina¬ 
tion  of  this  question  has  been  so  long  delayed. 

The  universal  experience  of  other  places  has  been  that 
when  a  feasible  project  for  introducing  a  water  supply  has 
been  once  started  it  sooner  or  later  prevails,  and  when  such 
plans  have  been  carried  out  and  the  benefits  practically  dem¬ 
onstrated  it  has  answered  all  of  the  previous  objections  and 
secured  for  it  universal  approbation. 

The  previous  examinations  of  the  subject  have  settled  the 
source  of  the  supply  to  a  question  between  Lake  Ontario  and 
the  Oswego  river,  and  the  present  discussion  will,  therefore, 
be  confined  to  these  two  sources. 

Both  of  these  plans  require  the  use  of  mechanical  power  to 
elevate  the  water — the  former  by  steam  and  the  latter  by 
water  power. 

The  plans  proposed  will  now  be  more  particularly  describ¬ 
ed,  viz.: 

1.  THE  LAKE  TLAN. 

A  well  will  be  sunk  near  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  into 
which  the  water  will  be  conducted  by  a  pipe  leading  out  into 
deep  water.  In  this  well  will  be  placed  pumps,  to  be  driven 
by  a  steam  engine,  and  the  water  forced  through  iron  pipes 
to  a  reservoir  located  on  the  highest  ground  in  the  west  divi- 


sion  of  the  city  and  a  branch  main  leading  to  a  similar  reser¬ 
voir  in  the  east  division. 

From  these  two  reservoirs  a  system  of  iron  pipes  will  he 
laid,  which  will  distribute  the  water  to  all  parts  of  the  city. 

For  reasons  which  will  be  mentioned  hereafter,  the  pump 
well  will  be  placed  either  at  the  foot  of  eighth  street,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  harbor,  or  at  She! don’s  point. 

To  obtain  sufficiently  pure  water  it  will  be  necessary  to 
extend  the  inlet  pipe  about  six  hundred  feet  from  the  shore, 
where  the  water  will  be  about  fifteen  feet  deep,  so  that  the 
supply  may  be  taken  from  about  three  feet  above  the  bed  of 
the  lake,  to  escape  the  drift  of  sand  and  gravel  in  storms, 
and  twelve  feet  below  the  surface  to  assure  an  equable  tem¬ 
perature  and  escape  floating  matter. 

The  inlet  pipe  proposed  is  four  feet  in  diameter,  made  of 
wrought  iron,  and  must  be  protected  by  a  very  strong  pier  of 
wood  filled  with  stone.  A  well  chamber,  provided  with  gates 
and  screens,  will  be  placed  at  the  outer  extremity  of  the  in¬ 
let  pipe. 

This  pipe  will  discharge  by  a  syphon  end  into  the  pump 
well,  which  will  be  sunk  to  a  depth  of  twelve  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  lake.  The  upper 
portion  of  the  well  will  be  built  up  of  masonry  to  form  a 
foundation  for  the  engine  and  pumps. 

The  steam  engine  will  be  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
horse  power,  if  located  at  the  foot  of  eighth  street,  and  twenty 
more  horse  power  if  located  at  Sheldon’s  point.  There  will 
be  two  plunger  pumps,  each  of  fourteen  inches  diameter. 

The  main  engine  will  be  condensing,  and  there  will  be  pro¬ 
vided  a  duplicate  non-condensing  engine  and  pumps  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  above  power. 

The  condensing  engine  will  furnish  the  present  supply  by 
running  sixteen  hours  each  day,  and  the  duplicate  non-con¬ 
densing  engine  will  furnish  the  same  supply  by  running  the 
whole  twenty- four  hours.  As  the  latter  will  only  be  used  at 
rare  intervals,  the  economy  of  its  first  cost,  rather  than  that 
of  running,  has  been  considered. 


Several  different  plans  of  pumping  engines  might  be  pre¬ 
sented  for  discussion,  but  for  reasons  hereafter  stated  the  es¬ 
timates  have  been  based  upon  one  kind  in  general  use. 

The  pump  main  to  the  point  where  it  branches  to  the  two 
reservoirs  will  be  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  two 
branches  each  ten  inches.  A  large  air  chamber  and  check 
valve  will  be  placed  in  the  main  near  the  pumps,  another  at 
the  river  crossing,  and  another  in  each  of  the  branch  mains 
at  half  the  elevation  to  the  reservoir. 

The  reservoir  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  will  be  twenty 
feet  lower  than  that  on  the  west  side,  but  the  friction  of  the 
water  through  the  increased  length  of  the  main  to  the  former 
will  generally  be  about  equal  to  this  difference  in  the  eleva¬ 
tion  of  the  two  reservoirs,  so  that  they  will  fill  at  about  the 
same  depth  while  the  pumps  are  in  operation,  but  when  they 
stop  it  will  be  necessary  to  close  the  cock  at  the  river  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  water  from  the  west  reservoir  being  all  drawn  off 
into  the  pipes  and  reservoir  on  the  east  side. 

The  pumping  main  to  the  east  division  may  be  carried 
across  the  river  either  at  Bridge  or  Utica  streets.  In  the 
former  it  would  be  necessary  to  use  an  inverted  syphon  at  the 
draw  and  carry  the  pipe  under  the  bridge  in  a  box  of  six  feet 
square,  filled  with  charcoal  to  prevent  the  water  from  freez¬ 
ing  in  the  winter.  This  box  and  the  pipe,  however,  may  be 
made  nearly  self-sustaining,  so  as  to  bring  but  little  weight 
upon  the  trusses  of  the  river  bridge. 

The  pump  main  can  be  carried  across  the  river  on  the 
Utica  street  bridge  at  less  expense,  and  in  like  manner  boxed 
and  made  self-sustaining.  In  either  case  stop  cocks  would 
be  required  in  the  mains  on  each  side  of  the  river  to  provide 
against  accidents. 

The  reservoirs  and  distribution  will  be  substantially  the 
same  in  all  of  the  plans,  and  will  be  more  particularly  de¬ 
scribed  under  those  neads. 

The  common  opinion  is  that  the  river  water,  after  it  enters 
the  lake,  invariably  flows  to  the  eastward,  or  off  shore,  and 


7 


never  to  the  westward,  and,  therefore,  that  the  supply  should 
be  taken  from  the  lake  west  of  the  river  mouth. 

The  direction  of  the  river  water,  after  it  enters  the  lake, 
can  be  but  slightly  affected  by  the  current  which  flows  to¬ 
wards  its  discharge.  The  sectional  area  of  the  lake  at  this 
place  is  a  thousand  times  greater  than  that  of  the  St.  Law¬ 
rence  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  and,  therefore,  the  average 
velocity  of  the  water  at  the  former,  compared  to  the  latter, 
would  be  only  as  one  to  a  thousand,  an  effect  which  would 
be  more  than  equalized  by  the  faintest  summer  breeze  from 
the  east.  The  surface  and  shore  currents  of  the  lake  are 
governed  by  the  winds. 

The  meteorological  records  which  are  kept  at  a  great  many 
places  on  both  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  give  the  number  of 
days  in  each  year  that  the  wind  blows  from  each  direction. 
The  average  resultant  direction  for  many  years  has  been  from 
a  little  south  of  west,  and  therefore  the  general  current  of  the 
surface  of  the  lake  must  be  in  this  direction,  though,  when 
the  winds  from  other  directions  prevail  for  several  days  con¬ 
tinuously,  the  lake  currents  are  changed  accordingly. 

The  resultant  direction  of  the  wind  for  the  average  of  a 
number  of  years  at  several  places  along  the  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario  is  as  follows: 

At  Buffalo, . . Erie  County, . . S.  45  °  W. 

“  Lewiston, . Niagara  County, _ S.  52°  27'  W. 

“  Millville, . Orleans  County, . S.  74°  18’  W. 

“  Gaines, . .  do.  N.71°  W. 

“  Rochester, . Monroe  County, . N.  81  °  58'  W. 

“  Monroe, .  do.  . S.  53  °  48’  W. 

“  Palmyra, . Wayne  County, . S.  69  °  10'  W. 

u  Mexico, . Oswego  County, . S.  72°  8’  W. 

“  Ellisburg, . .Jefferson  County, _ S.  59  °  12'  W. 

a  -Ogdensburgh, . St.  Lawrence  County. S.  69  °  18'  W. 

“  Groveneur, .  do.  do.  _S.  80°  30'  W. 

“  Potsdam, .  do.  do.  .S.  66  °  15'  W. 

The  Academy  at  Mexico  is  the  nearest  station  the  records 


s 


of  which  arc  just  now  accessible,  and  they  are  sufficiently  ap¬ 
plicable  to  illustrate  the  subject  under  consideration. 

TABLE. 


WINTER 

STRING. 

SUMMER 

AUTUMN 

YEAR. 

From  the  Northeast, 

2.37 

2.22 

L91 

3.05 

9.55 

“  “  East, 

5.53 

5.23 

2.63 

4.85 

18.24 

“  “  Southeast, 

18.86 

15.61 

11.08 

13,00 

58.55 

Total, 

26.76 

23.06 

15.62 

20.90 

86.34 

Per  cent., 

30. 

25. 

17. 

23. 

25. 

From  the  Southwest, 

"  6.27 

1082" 

10.55 

34.26 

“  “  West, 

22.74 

29.28 

33.01 

31.23 

116.26 

“  “  Northwest, 

14.54 

18.31 

13.64 

10.96 

40.97 

Total, 

43.90 

53.86 

57.47 

52.74 

191.49 

Per  cent., 

48.8 

60. 

63. 

58. 

55. 

From  the  North, 

8.81 

5.27 

5.27 

5.54 

24.89 

“  “  South, 

10.76 

8.81 

13.64 

11.82 

45.03 

Total, 

19.57 

14.08 

18.91 

17.36 

69.92 

Per  cent., 

21.2 

15. 

20. 

19. 

20. 

Grand  Total, 

89733 

92.00' 

91.98' 

91.00 

347.75 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  winds  blow  from  the  west¬ 
ward  a  little  more  than  half  of  the  time,  and  from  the  east¬ 
ward  one-fourth  of  the  time  for  the  whole  year,  but  in  the 
winter  months  for  nearly  one-third  of  the  time. 

The  river  water,  in  flowing  through  the  city,  becomes  con¬ 
taminated  by  the  sewerage  matter,  offal  from  the  vessels  in 
port  and  the  refuse  from  the  manufactories;  the  heavier  por¬ 
tions  of  this  matter  will  sink  in  the  harbor  or  in  the  broad 
expanse  of  the  lake,  but  the  lighter  portions  will  be  carried 
to  some  distance  by  the  current,  and  at  some  seasons  will  so 
seriously  injure  the  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  inlet  pipe  that 
it  will  be  necsssary  to  depend  upon  a  supply  from  the  reser¬ 
voirs  until  the  winds  change  the  direction  of  the  current. 

The  first  place  selected  for  the  location  of  the  pumps  was 
at  the  foot  of  eighth  street,  but  the  above  considerations  seem 
to  render  it  necessary  to  remove  them  further  to  the  west¬ 
ward,  and  Sheldon's  point  was  afterwards  selected  for  the 
location. 


9 


This  will  involve  the  cost  of  an  increased  power  to  the  en¬ 
gines  to  overcome  the  friction  of  three  thousand  four  hundred 
feet  more  of  pump  main,  besides  the  increased  cost  of  this 
main. 

The  most  serious  difficulty  connected  with  the  lake  plan 
will  be  in  the  building  of  suitable  piers  in  the  lake  to  protect 
the  inlet  pipe. 

The  shore  and  bed  of  the  lake  is  a  smooth  sandstone  rock, 
over  which  the  waves  are  driven  in  gales  with  but  little  fric¬ 
tion,  and  acquire  a  force  which  the  strongest  work  will  hard¬ 
ly  resist,  while  the  same  smooth  surface  renders  it  difficult  to 
secure  the  piers  at  the  bottom  (as  could  be  done  in  sand), 
and  therefore  the  piers  .must  be  made  of  great  size,  as  well  as 
strength,  so  as  to  oppose  their  own  insistent  weight  to  the 
force  of  the  waves. 

These  difficulties  have  been  illustrated  in  the  construction 
and  maintainance  of  the  harbor  piers,  and  show  that  works 
of  this  character  at  the  place  in  question  must  be  made 
equally  strong,  and  even  then  will  be  liable  to  constant  de¬ 
rangement. 

These  protecting  piers  can  only  be  placed  in  the  lake  when 
it  is  calm,  and  the  uncertainty  of  such  times  and  of  their  du¬ 
ration  will  increase  the  cost  of  this  portion  of  the  work. 

In  view  of  all  these  difficulties,  I  think  it  would  be  advisa¬ 
ble  to  make  a  trial  by  boring  into  the  rock  on  the  shore  to  a 
considerable  depth,  to  ascertain  whether  the  strata  of  the 
rock,  at  the  required  depth,  are  sufficiently  open  to  allow  the 
lake  water  to  flow  into  a  well  in  sufficient  quantities  to  fur¬ 
nish  the  supply  desired. 

The  sand  rock  lies  in  thin,  nearly  horizontal,  strata,  and, 
above  the  water,  appears  to  be  open  enough  to  allow  suffi¬ 
cient  water  to  flow  through.  If  the  trial  holes  should  indi¬ 
cate  a  successful  result,  a  large  well  should  be  sunk  near  the 
site  of  the  proposed  pump  house  to  such  a  depth  as  would 
intersect  enough  of  these  open  strata  to  yield  the  required 
supply.  While  sinking  this  well  the  fissures  in  the  rock 
should  be  closed  up  as  they  are  encountered,  so  as  to  dimin- 


10 


ish  the  expense  of  the  temporary  pumping  while  the  excava¬ 
tion  of  the  well  is  in  progress,  and  when  it  is  complete  the 
fissures  on  the  side  of  the  well  towards  the  lake  should  be 
opened. 

The  cost  of  this  work  is  conjectural,  but  it  is  evident  that 
it  would  be  very  much  less  than  that  of  the  supply  pipe  and 
its  protecting  piers. 

2.  THE  RIVER  PLANS. 

The  water  required  for  the  use  of  the  city,  and  also  the 
power  necessary  to  elevate  it,  will  be  taken  from  the  Oswego 
River,  either  from  one  of  the  hydraulic  canals  at  the  lower 
dam  or  from  the  pond  at  the  upper  dam,  and  by  means  of 
water  wheels  pumps  will  be  driven  which  will  force  the  water 
through  iron  pipes  to  two  reservoirs,  placed  one  on  each  side 
of  the  river,  and  from  thence  distributed  by  two  independent 
system  of  iron  pipes  to  every  part  of  each  of  the  grand  divi¬ 
sions  of  the  city. 

The  two  river  plans  are  alike  in  their  general  features,  and 
will  be  described  together,  noting  where  they  differ. 

A  wheel-pit,  enclosed  by  walls  of  hydraulic  masonry,  will 
be  built  forty-eight  by  thirty-six  feet  in  the  clear,  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  which  will  be  placed  a  forebay  of  massive  timber  and 
plank  twenty-two  feet  square,  within  which  will  be  a  pump 
well  of  ten  feet  square. 

The  forebay  will  be  so  placed  as  to  furnish  water  to  four 
Turbines,  each  of  which  will  drive  a  pair  of  plunger  pumps, 
all  of  which  will  discharge  into  one  common  pumping  main. 
With  the  full  head  of  water,  one  of  these  Turbines  and  its 
two  pumps,  will  furnish  the  present  supply,  by  running  twen¬ 
ty-four  hours  per  day,  and  at  times  of  the  most  back  water 
the  two  wheels,  which  are  now  proposed  to  be  erected,  will 
furnish  the  supply,  by  running  sixteen  hours  per  day. 

The  maximum  head  of  water,  at  the  lower  dam  is  ten  feet, 
and  at  the  upper  dam  is  sixteen  feet.  This  difference  will  be 
much  lessened  by  the  increase  of  back  water  at  the  upper 
dam,  in  times  of  freshets  in  the  river,  and  therefore  the 


11 


wheels  arranged  for  the  lower  power  are  also  estimated  for 
the  upper  one,  although  they  will  give  an  excess  of  power  in 
the  latter  case. 

A  wheel  of  fifty-four  inches  diameter  is  proposed,  which, 
under  twelve  feet  head,  will  move  three  times  as  fast  as  it  is 
desirable  to  move  the  plunger  of  the  pumps  ;  a  small  pinion 
will,  therefore,  be  placed  upon  the  water-wheel  shaft,  which 
will  work  into  two  spur  wheels  of  three  times  its  diameter. 
Into  one  of  the  arms  of  each  of  these  spur  wheels  will  be  in¬ 
serted  a  steel  pin,  to  which  will  be  attached  a  connecting  rod, 
the  other  end  of  which  will  be  connected  with  the  pump 
plunger. 

The  pumps  will  be  single  acting,  with  a  chamber  of  four¬ 
teen  inches  diameter,  and  a  plunger  of  nine  inches  diameter 
and  three  feet  length  of  stroke. 

Each  pump  will  have  an  independent  suction  pipe  of  ten 
inches  diameter,  extending  ten  feet  deep  into  the  pump 
well,  with  a  rose  piece  strain  and  check  valve  at  the  bottom, 
and  another  valve  at  the  top  and  a  third  delivery  valve,  in  a 
short  pipe,  connecting  with  the  pump  main. 

The  second  wheel  will  be  placed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
forebay,  and  with  its  pair  of  pumps  arranged  in  the  same 
manner  and  communicating  with  the  same  pump  main. 

On  a  pipe,  central  to  all  four  of  the  pumps,  will  be  placed 
a  large  air  chamber  and  a  waste  pipe  with  a  stop  cock. 

At  the  lower  dam  location,  there  will  be  an  independent 
pump  main,  of  ten  inches  diameter,  to  the  Reservoir  on  each 
side  of  the  river,  with  check  valves,  air  chambers  and  stop 
cocks  in  each;  and  from  the  upper  dam,  the  pump  main  will 
be  common  to  the  corner  of  Talman  and  Murray  streets,  and 
then  branch  off  to  each  of  the  Reservoirs. 

At  the  lower  dam  location  the  pump  main  to  the  West 
Division  Reservoir  will  be  carried  over  the  hydraulic  canal  on 
a  bridge,  and  will  be  boxed  and  filled  with  charcoal.  The 
main  to  the  East  Division  Reservoir  will  be  laid  across  the 
bed  of  the  river,  below  the  dam,  in  a  trench  excavated  in  the 
rock  and,  after  the  pipe  is  laid,  it  will  be  covered  with  hy- 


12 


draulic  masonry.  A  stop  cock  will  be  placed  on  each  side  of 
the  river.  This  main  will  also  be  carried  over  the  hydraulic 
and  State  canals  by  a  bridge  or  under  them  in  trenches. 

The  wheels  and  pumps  at  the  upper  dam  location  may  be 
placed  on  either  the  East  or  West  side  of  the  river,  and  two 
favorable  sites  for  Reservoirs  exist  on  each  side  of  the  river, 
viz:  on  the  East  side  on  Carrington  Hill,  or  near  the  Law¬ 
rence  Park;  and  on  the  West  side  on  Reservoir  Square,  or 
near  the  Asylum. 

As  these  several  sites  present  nearly  equal  advantages,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  indicate  the  preferable  ones  more  particu¬ 
larly,  until  arrangements  have  been  made  to  secure  the  land 
for  the  Reservoirs. 

The  course  of  the  pump  mains  will  be  governed  by  the 
location  of  the  power  and  of  the  Reservoir. 

A  submerged  pump  main  can  be  carried  across  the  river, 
between  the  two  dams,  or  it  may  be  carried  across  Utica 
street  Bridge  as  in  the  Lake  plan. 

The  plan  of  the  Reservoirs  and  the  system  of  Distribution 
will  be  substantially  the  same  for  all  of  the  plans. 

RESERVOIRS. 

In  a  water  supply,  dependent  upon  mechanical  power,  it  is 
desirable  to  have  as  large  reservoir  capacity  as  possible,  to 
provide  against  an  interruption  from  the  derangement,  of  any 
part  of  the  machinery.  This  is  also  advantageous  in  case  of 
protracted  conflagrations,  as  it  will  keep  up  the  head  without 
the  hazard  of  running  the  machinery  too  fast,  which  is  very 
likely  to  occur  in  the  excitement  produced  on  such  occasions. 
It  is  also  desirable  to  make  the  Reservoir  in  two  divisions,  so 
that  the  water  may  be  settling  in  one  while  the  other  is  being 
filled.  In  the  plans  herein  proposed,  the  two  Reservoirs  on 
the  opposite  sides  of  the  river  will  answer  the  purpose  of  the 
two  divisions  at  such  times  as  the  river  water  may  require 
settling.  These  plans  contemplate  the  storage  of  fifteen 
millions  of  gallons,  with  land  to  be  purchased  on  which  an 
additional  division  may  be  built  hereafter,  to  double  this 


13 


storage.  The  former  would,  if  economically  used,  last  a 
month  and  the  latter  two  months  of  the  ordinary  consump¬ 
tion — which  is  deemed  ample  for  the  case  in  hand. 

The  following  general  description  of  the  manner  of  building 
thy  Reservoirs  proposed,  will  apply  to  all  those  spoken  of.  The 
enclosing  banks  will  be  of  earth,  finished  off  with  sixteen 
feet  width  at  the  top  and  slopes  of  two  horizontal  to  one  ver¬ 
tical,  and  carried  up  to  four  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
water  in  front,  and  three  feet  in  the  rear,  but  the  water  may 
on  occasions  be  raised  one  and  a  half  feet  higher.  The  exca¬ 
vation  to  be  of  such  depth  as  to  furnish  the  materials  for  the 
banks.  The  bottom  of  the  Reservoir  will  be  ploughed  up 
very  deep,  the  stones  and  pervious  materials  removed,  and 
the  remainder  well  puddled  and  covered  with  four  inches 
depth  of  clean  coarse  sand  or  fine  gravel.  The  side  puddle 
walls  will  conform  to  the  slope  of  the  banks,  and  will  be 
twelve  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  and  six  feet  at  the  top  and 
carried  up  to  within  one  foot  of  the  top  of  the  bank.  The 
inside  of  the  banks  will  be  faced  with  gravel  one  foot  thick, 
upon  which  will  be  laid  a  slope  wall  also  one  foot  thick.  The 
rear  slopes  and  top  of  the  banks  will  be  turfed.  The  grounds 
will  be  enclosed  by  a  strong  picket  fence  six  feet  high,  with 
suitable  gates.  A  waste  pipe  of  iron,  eight  inches  in  diame¬ 
ter,  will  be  laid  through  the  banks  and  extended  to  a  proper 
waste  place  by  a  vitrified  earthen- ware  pipe  of  the  same  size. 
The  inlet  and  outlet  pipes  shall  be  of  iron,  twelve  inches  in 
diameter,  provided  with  stop  cocks,  which  will  be  placed  in 
a  stone  vault  covered  by  a  small  brick  house.  The  pump 
main  will  be  connected  with  the  distribution  main,  so  as  to 
supply  the  latter  directly  from  the  pumps,  without  passing 
into  the  Reservoir.  These  pipes  will  be  extended  into  the 
Reservoir  at  least  ten  feet  beyond  the  foot  of  the  banks,  and 
will  be  enclosed  in  a  box  of  wood  with  screens  and  strainers 
on  the  outlet  pipe.  A  drive  way  may  be  made  on  the  top  of 
the  Reservoir  banks,  and  the  grounds  may  be  ornamented 
with  flowers  and  shrubbery.  The  cost  of  the  second  division 
of  the  Reservoir  will  be  about  two- thirds  of  the  cost  of  the  first. 


14 


DISTRIBUTION. 

The  pipes  will  be  laid  of  the  several  sizes  and  in  the  streets 
named  in  the  annexed  schedule.  The  trenches  will  be  dug 
to  such  a  depth  as  that  all  of  the  pipes  will  be  covered  with 
at  least  four  feet  of  earth,  and  on  grades  arranged  so  that 
every  part  of  the  pipes  can  be  drained  and  with  no  crowning 
places.  The  earth  under  and  around  the  pipes  will  be  se¬ 
lected  of  the  best  material  and  rammed  in  firmly,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  trench  will  be  filled  up  evenly  and  solidly. 
There  will  be  six  water  districts,  separated  by  lines  of  stop 
cocks,  so  that  the  water  can  be  drawn  off  from  either  district 
without  interrupting  the  supply  to  the  others.  Fire  hydrants 
will  be  placed  at  every  alternate  corner  and  at  every  dead  end 
of  pipe,  and  each  one  will  be  connected  with  the  street  main 
by  pipes  of  four  inches  diameter.  There  will  be  two  six 
inch  mains  running  North  and  South  in  each  Division  of  the 
City,  and  three  East  and  West  mains  of  the  same  size.  The 
other  pipes,  except  the  pump  mains  and  a  few  short  ones  of 
three  inches  diameter,  will  all  be  of  four  inches  in  diameter 
— amounting  in  all  to  sixteen  and  a  half  inches.  A  main  of 
ten  inches  in  diameter  will  extend  from  each  Beservoir  in 
Seventh  street  to  Utica  street,  and  will  be  connected  through 
Utica  street,  passing  over  the  river  with  a  stop  cock  on  each 
side.  Each  Grand  Division  of  the  City  will  thus  have  its 
Reservoir  and  distribution  independent  of  the  other,  but  ar¬ 
ranged  so  that  each  one  may  be  supplied  from  the  Reservoir 
of  the  other. 

THE  QUANTITY  OF  WATER  TO  BE  SUPPLIED. 

The  actual  consumption  of  water  for  domestic  uses  would 
be  liberally  supplied,  by  allowing  twenty  gallons  per  day  for 
each  inhabitant.  The  experience  of  other  American  cities 
shows  that  there  is  as  much  wasted  as  used,  and  to  allow  for 
this  waste  and  also  for  the  use  of  various  mechanical  and 
other  works,  it  is  now  customary  to  provide  a  quantity  equal 
to  sixty  gallons  per  day  for  each  person. 

The  population  of  Oswego  is  about  twenty  thousand,  and 


15 


in  the  plans  herein  submitted,  it  is  proposed  to  furnish  a 
daily  supply  of  one  and  a  half  millions  of  gallons,  which  is 
equal  to  seventy-five  gallons  for  each  inhabitant,  and  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  an  increase  of  this  supply  to  two  and  a  quarter  mill¬ 
ions  of  gallons  daily,  without  any  alteration  of  the  works, 
but  simply  by  running  the  pumps  twenty-four  instead  of  six¬ 
teen  hours,  and  then  by  duplicating  the  wheels  and  pumps,  and 
without  other  expense,  to  double  the  last  mentioned  quantity. 
This  arrangement  seems  to  be  ample  to  meet  the  probable 
future  increase  of  population  and  business  for  many  years, 
and  it  has  the  advantage  that  no  portion  of  the  present  ex¬ 
penditure  will  be  lost  until  the  demand  for  water  exceeds 
three  times  the  present  supply. 

Upon  the  Lake  plan  the  pumping  mains  are  almost  neces¬ 
sarily  connected  with  and  used  for  the  distribution,  and  this 
will  bring  upon  the  most  of  the  street  and  house  service  pipes 
an  increased  head,  and  will  also  subject  them  to  shocks  from 
the  operations  of  the  pumps  and  sometimes  of  the  recoil  of 
the  water  through  such  long  mains.  A  stand  pipe  at  the 
pump  house  would  materially  lessen  the  last  ot  these  evils, 
but  it  would  be  so  costly  that  I  have  not  added  it  to  the  es¬ 
timate  for  that  plan.  In  all  the  plans  it  has  been  arranged 
to  pump  directly  into  the  distribution  mains  when  the  Res¬ 
ervoirs  are  out  of  order  or  when  an  unusual  quantity  of  water 
is  required,  under  great  head,  during  conflagrations. 

Annexed  will  be  found  a  table  showing  the  head  of  the 
water  in  the  street  pipes,  above  the  level  of  the  Lake,  at  the 
prominent  places  in  the  City,  both  when  the  supply  is  derived 
from  the  Reservoir  and  when  the  pumping  and  distributing- 
mains  are  connected.  In  the  latter  case,  however,  this  head 
may  be  increased  up  to  the  capacity  of  the  power  and  the 
strength  of  the  pipes,  and  to  prevent  subjecting  the  machin¬ 
ery  and  pipes  to  too  great  a  strain,  a  safety  valve  will  be  put 
on  the  air  chamber  of  the  pumps.  This  table  would  be  more 
interesting  if  the  head  of  water  above  the  level  of  the  streets 


16 


were  given,  but  the  City  Surveyor  can  furnish  you  with  such 
a  table  from  the  data  herein  given. 

THE  QUALITY  OF  THE  WATEK. 

In  the  mixed  population  of  a  city,  there  are  always  preju¬ 
dices  and  fallacies  in  regard  to  this  branch  of  the  subject, 
which  it  is  advisable  to  remove  by  a  statement  of  the  received 
opinions  of  the  source  of  water  and  the  changes  which  it  un¬ 
dergoes  before  it  is  used.  Water,  in  its  three-fold  condition 
of  vapor,  liquid  and  solid,  performs  some  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  functions  in  the  natural  and  artificial  purposes  of  life. 
In  the  first,  invisibly  associated  with  the  air,  it  nourishes  veg¬ 
etation  ;  in  the  second,  it  forms  one  of  the  components  of 
almost  every  substance  in  nature,  and  in  the  third  condition 
it  protects  vegetation  and  prevents  the  injurious  effects  of  the 
low  temperature  which  gives  to  it  a  solid  form. 

The  parent  source  of  all  of  the  fresh  water  on  the  earth,  is 
the  Ocean;  and  the  atmosphere  is  the  vehicle  by  which  it  is 
conveyed  over  and  precipitated  upon  the  land,  from  whence 
after  performing  its  various  functions,  it  flows  back  to  the 
sea,  to  be  again  exhaled  and  distributed  over  the  land,  and 
has  thus  incessantly  circulated  for  ages. 

The  temperature  of  the  air  determines  how  much  watery 
vapor  it  will  contain.  With  an  increase  it  will  absorb  more, 
and  with  a  diminution  of  temperature  the  excess  is  thrown 
off.  This  process  of  absorption  and  precipitation  is  in  con¬ 
stant  action,  and  produce  the  palpable  changes  of  drought 
and  moisture,  besides  a  vast  imperceptable  action  of  the  same 
kind  in  the  growth,  ripening  and  decay  of  vegetation  and  an¬ 
imal  life. 

The  winds  apparently  so  capricious,  are  governed  by  natu¬ 
ral  laws.  The  increasing  temperature  and  velocity  of  rota¬ 
tion  from  the  poles  towards  the  equator,  give  the  first  great 
direction  to  the  winds.  These  great  currents  encountering 
the  elevated  ranges  of  land,  are  deflected  and  produce  eddies 
and  irregularities  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  there  will 
in  all  places  be  found  a  general  direction  to  the  winds.  The 


17 


warm  atmosphere  from  towards  the  South,  moving  over  the 
face  of  the  Ocean,  absorbs  its  moisture  until  fully  saturated, 
and  then  blown  over  the  land  and  driven  upward  into  con¬ 
tact  with  cooler  strata  of  air  or  of  the  earth,  it  yields  its  ex¬ 
cess  of  moisture  in  dew,  rain  or  snow,  and  passing  onward 
is  again  warmed  and  renews  its  absorption  of  watery  vapor, 
to  be  again  discharged  on  the  land. 

The  water  which  is  thus  precipitated  upon  the  earth,  is  ab¬ 
sorbed  by  growing  vegetation  or  flows  off  through  the  super¬ 
ficial  water  courses  to  the  brooks  and  rivers  and  back  to  the 
ocean,  or  it  penetrates  the  porous  soil  in  drops  which  unite 
together  beneath  the  surface  in  threads,  veins  and  strata,  and 
descending  until  they  meet  some  impenetrable  stratum  over 
which  they  flow  subterraneously  and  re-appear  in  seeping  , 
places,  springs,  and  sometimes  in  streams  of  considerable 
size.  Springs  derive  their  supply  from  these  rain  drops, 
which  have  penetrated  the  porous  soil,  and  wells  are  merely 
the  interception  of  these  underground  threads  and  veins  of 
water,  while  ponds  and  lakes  are  formed  in  depressed  places 
by  the  same  drops,  over  a  substratum  of  soil  or  rock,  through 
which  they  cannot  percolate,  and  the  water  rises  to  the  brim 
of  the  natural  water-tight  basin  and  flows  over  in  a  brook  or 
river. 

Water  is  never  found  in  nature  in  a  perfectly  pure  condi¬ 
tion.  In  its  vapory  form,  it  has  a  strong  affinity  for  the 
other  gaseous  substances  with  which  the  air  is  charged  from 
effete  matter.  And  in  its  liquid  form  it  is  a  solvent  of  many 
substances  which  it  is  brought  into  contact  with,  upon  and 
beneath  the  earth.  Water  is  most  pure  when  it  is  first  evap¬ 
orated  in  mid  ocean,  but  as  the  vapory  winds  are  driven  over 
the  land,  as  before  stated,  it  absorbs  deleterious  gases,  and 
when  it  flows  ofer  or  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  it 
takes  up  in  solution  decaying  vegetable  and  animal  matter 
and  the  earthy  salts  and  other  injurious  soluble  substances. 
Rain  water,  flowing  through  a  pure  atmosphere  upon  a  clean 
surface,  is  the  purest  form  in  which  it  can  be  found.  That 
which  falls  upon  a  pure  sandy  soil,  free  from  vegetation,  is 


18 


the  next  purest.  Vegetation  and  animal  life,  while  growing, 
are  absorbents  of  deleterious  matter  in  the  air  and  water,  but 
in  decay  give  out  that  which  is  noxious  to  both.  Surface 
water  is,  therefore,  the  least  pure  in  the  autumn  and  the  most 
so  in  the  winter  and  spring — while  spring  and  well  waters, 
which  derive  their  impurities  from  earthy  solutions,  are  equal¬ 
ly  impure  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  foregoing  description  of  the  natural  operations  to 
which  water  is  subjected,  is  necessary  to  enable  us  to  deter¬ 
mine  which  is  best  for  the  purposes  under  consideration.  For 
drinking,  water  should  be  wholesome,  clear,  cool  and  aerated, 
and  for  other  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes,  it  must 
be  soft  and  limpid.  For  a  public  water  supply,  therefore, 
the  water  should  be  selected  having  the  following  character¬ 
istics  in  the  highest  degree  possible,  viz  :  first,  purity  ;  next, 
softness;  and  next,  limpidity.  If  all  of  the  rain  water  which 
falls  in  a  city  was  stored,  it  would  furnish  a  supply  sufficient 
in  quantity  for  domestic  uses,  but  it  would  be  very  objection¬ 
able  in  quality.  The  atmosphere  over  a  city  is  always  charged 
with  the  gaseous  products  of  combustion  and  those  arising 
from  decaying  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  garbage  and  sew¬ 
age  matter.  The  roofs  are  covered  with  these  substances  con¬ 
densed  from  the  gases,  and  with  soot,  dust  from  foecal  matter 
in  the  streets,  and  decaying  woody  matter  on  shingled  roofs, 
and  metalic  oxides  on  metalic  roofs.  The  rain  water  absorbs 
all  of  these,  and  stored  in  close  cisterns  loses  its  feration  and 
becomes  insipid  and  unless  cooled  with  ice,  is  repugnant  to  the 
taste.  That  such  water  is  very  impure,  is  evident  by  the 
rapid  production  of  animalculm  in  it,  which  show  the  presence 
of  the  food  necessary  to  maintain  that  minute  but  vast  quan¬ 
tity  of  animal  life.  It  is  supposed  that  filtration  will  remove 
the  impurities  of  water,  but  those  in  ordinary  use  only  re¬ 
move  such  matter  as  is  suspended  in  and  none  of  that  which 
is  chemically  united  with  the  water,  and  chemical  filters  to 
separate  the  latter  are  expensive  and  must  be  changed  with 
the  constantly  changing  condition  of  the  water. 

Spring  water  is  rarely  found  in  abundance  in  a  city,  and  is 


19 


usually  the  least  pure  of  the  waters  of  the  neighborhood. 
The  temperature  of  water  from  deep  seated  springs  is  that  of 
the  earth  at  such  depth,  which  is  about  the  mean  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  place  for  the  year.  At  the  point  of  issue,  the 
temperature  of  spring  water  changes  a  little  with  that  of  the 
season,  so  that  deep  seated  springs  at  Oswego  would  have  a 
temperature  of  about  45  °  in  winter  and  55  °  in  summer. 
Spring  water  is  usually  highly  charged  with  air,  and  this, 
with  its  low  temperature  in  summer  and  high  in  winter,  com¬ 
pared  with  that  of  air,  renders  it  so  gratefal.  The  earthy 
salts  in  such  wrater,  frequently  renders  it  more  pleasant  to  the 
taste,  but  it  is  not  always  healthful. 

Water  from  wells  in  cities  is  always  unfit  for  drinking — 
and  in  most  cases  is  very  deleterious  to  health.  Investiga¬ 
tions  have  been  made  all  over  the  country,  which  show  that 
some  of  the  most  serious  diseases  arise  from  the  use  of  well 
water  in  cities.  In  times  of  cholera,  the  progress  and  fatali¬ 
ty  of  this  disease  has  been  traced,  in  a  vast  number  of  cases, 
directly  to  the  use  of  impure  water  from  certain  wells  ;  and 
their  analyses,  compared  with  that  of  other  wells  in  the  same 
cities,  show  that  this  frightful  disease  is  promoted  and  ren¬ 
dered  more  fatal  by  the  use  of  well  water. 

Annexed  will  be  found  a  table  showing  the  character  of  the 
well  water,  which,  at  one  time,  had  been  used  in  several  cities, 
and  fully  bear  out  the  assertion  that  well  water  in  cities  is 
not  fit  for  drinking.  From  what  has  been  said  before,  it  will 
be  seen  that  well  water  becomes  charged  with  all  of  the  dis¬ 
solving  gases  in  the  atmosphere  and  on  the  surface  as  well  as 
the  solutions  of  decayed  matter,  and  mingled  with  the  drain¬ 
age  of  stables  and  privies  which  have  entered  the  soil,  com¬ 
bine  to  render  such  water  a  most  disgusting  solution.  The 
water  of  rapid  brooks  and  rivers  become  highly  charged  with 
air,  but  their  currents  abrade  the  banks  and  bottom  and  take 
up  in  suspension  the  alluvial  matter,  which  renders  them  tur¬ 
bid  and  in  that  condition  unfit  for  domestic  uses.  When  such 
water  is  discharged  into  a  lake  or  artificial  reservoir  and  al¬ 
lowed  to  stand  quiet,  it  precipitates  all  of  the  heavy  portions 


20 


of  such  suspended  matter  and  becomes  clear  and  limpid. 
These  rapid  streams  also  gather  and  carry  forward  with  them 
a  considerable  amount  of  vegetable  matter,  which  is  of  the 
s  ame  or  less  specific  gravity  as  the  water.  A  warm  atmos¬ 
phere  dissolves  the  latter  into  gases,  which  arise  and  are 
driven  oif,  and  a  process  of  self-purification  goes  on  which 
greatly  improves  the  water. 

Water  which  has  been  stored  for  use  in  some  of  our  cities, 
has  sometimes  been  defiled  for  a  few  days,  during  the  warm¬ 
est  weather,  by  the  rapid  production  of  animalcule  or  aquatic 
vegetation,  the  seeds  of  which  lie  dormant  within  the  body 
of  the  water  and  are  generated  when  the  water  has  remained 
stagnant  at  a  high  temperature  for  some  time,  and  probably 
when  the  atmosphere  is  in  a  certain  electric  condition.  The 
conjunction  of  all  of  the  causes  necessary  to  generate  this 
minute  life,  occur  only  at  long  intervals  of  years  and  then 
only  exists  for  a  few  days,  and  the  first  fall  in  the  tempera¬ 
ture  or  the  first  brisk  breeze  destroys  the  conditions  necessary 
to  maintain  this  ephemeral  life,  and  following  a  general  law 
of  nature,  they  die  and  dissolve  into  gases  as  quickly  as  they 
were  generated,  and  in  a  few  days  the  water  is  more  pure  than 
before.  Water  does  not  receive  or  part  with  caloric  freely, 
and  stored  in  large  and  deep  bodies  maintains  an  equal  tem¬ 
perature  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  The  fierce  rays  of  the 
noon-day  sun  and  currents  of  hot  air,  in  contact  with  the 
large  bodies  of  water  proposed  to  be  stored  in  the  reservoirs, 
would  be  tempered  by  that  of  the  cooler  nights  and  less 
warmer  days,  so  as  to  give  to  it  a  lower  temperature  in  sum¬ 
mer  and  higher  in  winter  than  that  of  the  river  from  which 
it  is  drawn,  and  this  water  conveyed  in  pipes  below  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  earth,  will  be  delivered  at  the  houses  at  a  very 
equable  temperature. 

The  Oswego  River  water  is  sometimes  too  turbid  for  domes¬ 
tic  uses,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  it  ought  to  be  filtered 
before  it  is  delivered  into  the  distribution  pipes.  The  quan¬ 
tity  of  water  which  is  required  for  drinking,  cooking  and 
washing,  will  not  be  ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole  quantity 


21 


which  is  to  he  pumped,  it  would,  therefore,  be  the  cheapest 
plan  to  have  a  filter  in  each  house.  The  storing  of  the  wa¬ 
ter  in  the  reservoirs  and  allowing  it  to  remain  quiet  for  a  few 
days,  will  be  the  best  plan  of  filtering,  but  if  it  is  desired, 
the  water  might  be  run  through  a  large  filter  for  a  specified 
hour  each  day,  and  each  family  can  then  draw  off  and  store 
enough  for  a  day’s  consumption.  Such  a  filter  could  be  made 
at  a  small  expense,  but  I  have  not  included  it  in  the  estimate.0 

I  have  had  no  access  to  an  analysis  of  the  Oswego  River 
water,  and  presume  that  none  has  been  made,  its  quality  can, 
therefore,  only  be  arrived  at  by  a  consideration  of  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  soil  of  its  water  shed  and  of  the  tributaries  of 
the  river.  It  has,  however,  been  stated  to  me  that  those  who 
have  used  it  for  washing  and  mechanical  purposes,  consider 
it  a  soft  water,  and  in  that  respect  equal  or  superior  to  the 
lake  water.  The  Oswego  River  drains  nearly  three  thousand 
square  miles,  embracing  seven  of  the  larger  interior  lakes, 
which,  with  a  good  many  smaller  ones,  have  an  aggregate 
area  of  three  hundred  square  miles,  and  supply  nine-tenths 
of  the  whole  water  of  the  river.  The  water  sheds  of  these 
lakes  and  of  their  tributary  streams  are  generally  on  gentle 
declivities  over  a  well  cultivated  country.  At  the  head  of 
the  lakes  there  are  generally  swamps  of  small  extent,  and 
along  the  Seneca  River  is  a  marsh  of  considerable  size.  Nine- 
tenths  of  the  whole  area  is  of  the  most  desirable  character  to 
yield  an  unusually  pure  river  water.  A  considerable  portion 
is  a  lime-stone  country,  and  corresponds  with  the  drainage 
area  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the  chain  of  large  lakes  about  it. 

The  analysis  of  the  waters  of  the  sources  of  the  river 
would,  therefore,  probably  show  nearly  the  same  components 
as  the  lake  water.  In  the  flow  of  these  waters  to  and  through 
the  Oswego  River,  they  again  take  up  the  alluvial  matter  of 
the  bed  and  shores  which  render  them  turbid,  and  are  mingled 

♦Note.  —There  are  in  constant  use  at  Kingsford’s  Starch  Factory,  filters  which  the  proprie¬ 
tors  say  purify  a  million  of  gallons  of  water  daily.  The  water  thus  purified  is  beautifully 
clear  and  superior,  in  that  respect,  to  the  clearest  lake  water  These  filters  are  made  of  clean, 
lake  washed  gravel  and  sand,  and  merely  remove  from  the  river  water  its  susptndvd  matter. 
They  do  not  change  its  chemical  constituents.  The  subsidence  from  the  river  water  by  the 
proposed  reservoirs,  will  accomplish  the  same  results  to  a  degree,  though  not  as  completely 
as  such  filtering. 


22 


with  the  highly  colored  waters  from  the  Montezuma  Marshes, 
and  are  also  charged  with  vegetable  matter,  both  in  solution 
and  suspension.  This  coloring  and  alluvial  matter  is  so  ob¬ 
servable  as  to  produce  the  strong  prejudice  which  has  existed 
against  the  use  of  the  river  water.  As  before  stated,  the 
storing  reservoir  proposed,  will  remove  the  alluvial  matter 
which  is  held  in  suspension,  and  the  coloring  is  innocuous 
and  of  so  faint  a  tinge  as  to  be  of  little  account.* 

The  marshes  spoken  of  have  an  area  of  less  than  one  per  ct. 
of  the  whole  water  shed  of  the  river,  f  The  aquatic  vegeta¬ 
tion  in  them  does  not  give  to  its  waters  much  decaying  matter, 
and  though  they  and  other  swamps  along  the  tributaries  un¬ 
doubtedly  deteriorate  the  pure  waters  issuing  fromthe  lakes, 
yet  it  is  to  a  less  extent  than  would  at  first  be  supposed.  The 
samples  of  river  and  lake  water  which  were  taken  up  in  Au¬ 
gust  last,  exhibit  about  the  same  amount  of  floculent  vege¬ 
table  matter  suspended  in  each.  Late  in  the  autumn  the 
river  water  would  show  a  larger  amount  than  the  lake  water. 

The  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  each  of  the  great  lakes 
which  it  drains,  have  been  repeatedly  analyzed  and  show 
nearly  the  same  constituents  in  each.  Professor  Douglas 
made  an  exceedingly  minute  analysis  of  the  Detroit  River 
water  in  1854,  which  reduced  to  the  American  measures  used 
for  this  purpose,  is  as  follows  : 


TABLE  OF  THE  NUMBER  OF  GRAINS  IN  ONE  GALLON. 


Silica, . . 

Oxide  of  Iron,.. 

Lime, _ j _ 

Potassium, _ 

Sodium, _ 

Sulphuric  acid,.. 
Phosphoric|acid, 
Carbonic  acid,  _  . 

Allumina, _ 

Total, _ 


0.28  grains. 
0.28  “ 
1.93  “ 

0.07  “ 

0.14  “ 

0.29  “ 

0.78  “ 

0.96  “ 

0.58  “ 

5.32  “ 


*X.»te.  The  United  States  ships-of-war  for  half  a  century  have  been  supplied  with  water 
for  1  »  * _r  voyages,  from  the  Elizabeth  River,  at  Norfolk,  which  drains  the  Dismal  Swnmp,  and 
is  :  highly  colored  as  pale  brandy.  This  water  in  the  Navy,  is  prefered  to  any  other,  and  is 
on  1  t,,  perfectly  healthy.  1  have  drank  some  of  it.  which  had  been  kept  in  the  tanks  of 
the  siorc.siup  for  twenty-five  years,  and  found  it  perfectly  pure  and  limpid.  Its  coloring  had 
all  faded  out. 

tProfessor  Hall  says  they  cover  sixty  thousand  acres. 


23 


Professor  Mather  analyzed  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie;  oil 
Cleveland  Harbor,  in  1852,  from  two  places,  one  near  the 
shore  and  the  other  half  a  mile  out,  as  follows  : 

NEAR  THE  SHORE.  HALF  A  MILE  OUT. 

Solid  matter  in  a  gallon, . . 8.33  grains.  2.54  grains. 

Lost  by  ignition, . . 3.49  u  0.80  u 

Organic  matter, _ 0.24  “  0.20  u 

Earthy  and  saline  matter, _ 4.84  “  1.74  u 

And  he  remarks  :  cc  The  two  lake  waters  contain  a  little  car- 
u  bonate,  sulphate  and  muriate  of  lime,  magnesia  and  oxide 
“  of  iron.  These  two  samples  of  water  show  the  extremes  of 
“  relative  purity  of  the  waters  that  may  he  expected  to  he 
ee  raised  hy  the  water  works  (at  Cleveland)  at  the  different 
“  seasons  of  the  year.” 

The  water  of  Lake  Ontario*  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee 
River  half  a  mile  out  from  the  piers,  is  said  to  have  been  an¬ 
alyzed  and  found  to  contain  eleven  grains  of  solid  matter  in  a 
gallon  the  day  after  a  storm;  and  at  a  thousand  feet  from  the 
shore,  on  the  same  day,  four  grains.  The  seasons  of  the  year 
and  the  direction  of  the  wind  when  these  waters  were  taken  up 
for  analyzation,  are  not  stated.  The  result  given  by  Professor 
Mather  may  be  taken  for  the  purity  of  the  water  of  Lake 
Ontario  in  its  most  favorable  season  and  beyond  the  influence 
of  the  shore,  and  that  given  by  Professor  Douglas  as  the  most 
favorable  condition  of  such  water  as  would  be  obtained  by 
the  lake  plan  at  Oswego,  and  these  may  also  be  taken  for 
the  condition  of  the  water  from  the  smaller  lakes  which  form 
the  sources  of  the  Oswego  River,  when  discharged  at  their 
several  outlets.  A  careful  consideration  of  the  whole  subject 
leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that,  with  the  operation  of  the 
large  reservoirs  proposed,  the  City  of  Oswego  may  be  sup¬ 
plied  with  water  from  the  Oswego  River  which,  for  all  uses, 

*Note.  The  bed  of  Lake  Ontario  is  several  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
Doctor  Beck  says  :  “  An  opinion  was  at  one  time  entertained  that  the  water  of  Lake  Ontario 
“was  salt  at  the  bottom,  but  recent  and  carefully  conducted  experiments  have  proved  that 
“such  is  not  the  case.  It  is  found  like  that  of  most  of  our  inland  lakes  and  rivers,  to  be 
“  nearly  pure,  containing  only  minute  quantities  of  the  carbonate  and  sulphate  of  lime  and 
“the  cloride  of  calcium.”—  HdL  History  of  Hew  York,  Art.  Mineralogy,  p.  180. 


24 


will  be  equal  to  that  which  could,  at  a  reasonable  expense, 
be  procured  from  the  lake. 

ESTIMATES  OF  THE  COST. 

These  estimates  do  not  include  the  cost  of  the  land  for  the 
pumping  houses,  or  the  reservoirs,  or  the  right  of  way  for  the 
pipes,  or  for  the  use  of  the  water.  The  former  will  be  about 
the  same  on  each  of  the  plans,  and  may  be  set  down  at  from 
ten  to  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  cost  of  running  the 
condensing  steam  engine  per  year,  would  be  as  follows  : 

Wages  of  an  engineer  and  fireman, _ $  2,000 

Oil,  tallow,  waste  and  repairs,  $5  per  day, .  1,825 

$  3,825 

Cost  of  coal  for  engine  of  143-horse  power,  1,800  tons, 

$10  per  ton, . . . . .  18,000 

Total, . . $21,825 

Or  for  an  engine  of  123-horse  power,  1,500  tons,  $10 

per  ton,  $1,500. . . $18,825 

The  cost  of  running  the  water-wheels  and  pumps  per  year, 
will  be  : 

Wages  of  a  mechanic  and  laborer, . $  1,500 

Oil,  tallow,  waste,  repairs  and  heating  wheel-pit,. ..  1,100 

$  2,600 

For  the  use  of  water-power  at  lower  dam,  9  run  of 

stone,  $500, . . . . .  4,500 

Total, . $  7,100 

Or  at  upper  dam,  13  run  of  stone,  $200 — $2,600 — $  5,200 
The  capital,  the  interest  of  which  would  pay  the  above  an¬ 


nual  expenses,  is  as  follows  : 

Lake  plan,  foot  of  Eighth  street, . . $268,923 

do  at  Sheldon's  Point, . . .  311,786 

River  plan,  lower  dam, . . .  101,428 

do  upper  dam, . - .  74,286 


25 


1.  THE  COST  OF  THE  LAKE  PLAN — PUMPS  AT  FOOT  OF 
EIGHTH  STREET. 

A  pipe  of  wrought  iron,  four  feet  in  diameter,  from 
the  pump  well,  extended  six  .hundred  feet  into 

the  lake, . . . $  17,300 

A  protecting  pier  of  timber,  well  bolted  and  filled 
with  stone,  and  an  inlet  well  with  gates  and 
screens, . .  37,000 

A  pump  well  excavated  in  the  rock  and  a  foundation 
wall  on  top,  for  the  engines  and  pumps — inclu¬ 
ding  the  gates,  screens  and  partition, _  5,500 

An  engine,  boiler  and  coal  house,  and  chimney  of 

brick, . . . __  13,041 

A  condensing  steam  engine  of  123-horse  power,  and 
pumps,  also  a  non-condensing  engine  of  80- 
horse  power  and  pumps,. . . .  53,455 


A  pump  main  of  twelve  inches  diameter  to  the  cor¬ 
ner  of  Utica  and  Eighth  street,  and  thence,  of 
ten  inches,  to  each  reservoir,  with  the  stop 
cocks,  check  valves,  air  chamber,  and  boxing 


across  the  river, _  49,450 

Two  reservoirs,  each  to  contain  five  millions  of  gal¬ 
lons,  with  inlet  and  outlet  pipes,  drain,  pipe 

vault  and  fence, _ 49,670 

The  distribution  pipes  (fifteen  miles)  with  stop  cocks 

and  hydrants, _ 104,670 


$330,086 

If  wrought  iron  pipes,  lined  and  covered  with  hydrau¬ 
lic  cement,  are  substituted  for  cast  iron  pipes, 
where  it  can  be  safely  done,  it  will  reduce  this 
estimate, . . . .  30,000 

Total, . $300,086 

If  the  pumps  are  placed  at  Sheldon's  Point,  and  the  reser¬ 
voirs  are  increased  to  hold  seven  and  a  half  million  gal- 

4 


26 

Ions,  and  the  street  pi;  es  are  increase!  to  sixteen  and  a  half 
miles,  it  wiii  add  as  follows  : 

.  For  the  engines  and  pump  main, . . §17,050 

do  reservoirs, .  10,000 

do  extra  street  pipes, . _  10,5)0 

- §  37,550 

Total, . .  §337,636 

2.  THE  RIVER  PLAN — FROM  THE  LOWER  DAM. 

A  wheel-house  of  brick  and  wheel-pit  of  stone, _ §  9,250 

A  forebay  and  connections  with  the  can  il, .  3,000 

Two  water  wheels,  pumps  and  gearing, . .  12,500 

A  forcing  main  of  ten  inches  diameter  to  each  reser¬ 
voir,  with  stop  cocks,  check  valves,  air  chamber, 
bridges  and  pipe  boxing  over  hydraulic  and 
State  canals,  trenching  and  laying  pump  main 


across  the  bed  of  the  river, . -  30,800 

Two  reservoirs,  (five  million  gallons,)  same  as  in 

Lake  plan, . .  49,670 

The  distribution  pipes,  (fifteen  miles,)  cocks  and  hy¬ 
drants,  boxing  pipes  at  Utica  street  bridge,--  124,820 

§230,040 

If  iron  and  cement  pipes  are  substituted,  it  will  re¬ 
duce, . 30,000 

Total, . §200,040 

If  the  reservoirs  are  increased  to  hold  seven  and  a 
half  million  gallons,  and  the  street  pipes  to 
sixteen  and  a  half  miles,  it  will  add,.-- .  20,590 

Total, . - . §220,540 

3.  THE  RIVER  PLAN — FROM  THE  UPPER  DAM. 

A  wheel-house,  forebay,  wheels  and  pumps,  nearly 

as  above, . §  22,750 

A  forcing  main  to  each  reservo  r,  and  fixtures, .  50,000 

Two  reservoirs,  etc.,  nearly  as  above, .  46,670 


27 


The  distribution  as  above, . .  124,820 


$244,240 

If  cement  pipes  are  used,  it  will  reduce  the  estimate,  30,500 


Total, . . . - . |213,?40 

If  the  reservoirs  and  street  pipes  are  increased  as 

above,  it  will  add, . - . 20,500 


Total, . . . $233,740 

RECAPITULATION. 

The  Lake  plan,  from  foot  of  8th  St.,.  .$300,086  Add  lOperct  ,.$330,094 
do  do  Sheldon’s  Point,.  337,636  do  .  371,400 

The  River  plan,  from  tfe  lower  dam,.  200, U40  do  .  220.014 
do  do  enlarged  i  es’rs,  etc.  220,540  do  .  242,594 

do  do  the  upper  dam,.  214,240  do  .  235,664 

do  do  enlarged  i es’rs,  etc.  233,740  do  .  258,214 

COMPARISON  OF  THE  PLANS. 


The  excessive  cost  of  the  Lake  plans,  as  well  as  the  annual 
expense  of  running  the  engines  and  the  hazard  of  maintain- 
ing  the  piers  in  the  lake,  are  not  balanced  by  any  fancied 
superiority  in  the  quality  of  the  water,  and  leaves  the  ques¬ 
tion  to  a  choice  between  the  two  E  ver  plans.  The  increased 
cost  of  the  rental  of  the  water  power,  from  the  lower  dam, 
represents  a  capital  which,  at  first,  is  nearly  equal  to  the  dif¬ 
ference  in  the  cost  of  the  two  plans.  For  the  water  works,  it 
is  indispensible  that  a  preference  right  to  the  use  of  the  wa¬ 
ter  should  be  acquired.  All  of  the  first  class  water  powers 
from  the  lower  dam  are  understood  to  have  been  sold,  and 
therefore  it  would  be  necessary  to  purchase  some  of  the  pow¬ 
ers  already  occupied.  The  power  necessary  to  elevate  the 
quantity  of  water  required  for  the  present,  supply,  is  equal  to 
that  usually  furnished  to  drive  four  and  a  half  run  of  stone, 
and  eventually  twice  as  much  will  probably  be  required.0 

-The  contracts  of  the  Hydraulic  Canal  Company  at  Oswego  formerly  provided 
eleven  and  throe-quart*  r  <-uh?c  foot  per  so  (  n  i,  under  sixteen  leer  head,  for  a  run- o;V  u  .  The 
recent  contracts  provide  t-w-nty  cubic  feet,  which  g>ves  a  theoretic  horse  power  of  30.fi-'  .  The 
w  t * c i-  wheels  in  irener.il  nse  at  that  place,  after  allow  n  •  for  waste,  yield  an  effective  j  owe*  of 
fifty-five  percent,  of  the  theorem-  weight  of  the  wafer,  w  ■  eh  yriv.-.s;<u  effect 've  h  rs<*  power  of 
twenty  fortius  <  plant  t-y  and  tall  of  water.  The  who,,  wa  -r  of  the  Oswego  R  vor  at  ordntny 
low  water  is  e  mai  to  57*1  theoretic  horse  powei ,  fifty-five  p  r  cent  of  which  >s  2  70  horse  power, 
or  eaiial  to  one  hundred  run  of  stone.  One  guage  of  the  rivex-,  in  an  extraordinary  low  l.ine, 
gave  but  three-fifths  of  the  above  stated  amount  of  water. 


28 


The  abstraction  of  a  million  and  a  half  of  gallons  daily, 
(two  and  a  third  cubic  feet  per  second,)  for  consumption  in 
the  city,  is  of  little  importance,  as  a  considerable  portion  of 
it  would  be  returned  again  to  the  hydraulic  canals,  but  the 
absorption  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  power  from  the  lower 
dam  would  be  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  city,  and  it 
is  probable  that  a  large  majority  of  the  citizens  would  prefer 
to  encounter  the  small  increase  of  the  first  cost  of  the  water 
works,  by  taking  the  power  from  the  upper  dam. 

One  of  the  important  elements  of  the  prosperity  of  Oswe¬ 
go  is  this  lower  water  power,  placed  where  vessels  with  grain 
from  the  upper  lakes  and  Canada,  can  be  unloaded  by  eleva¬ 
tors  directly  into  the  mills,  where  it  is  to  be  ground  and  the 
manufactured  article  loaded  into  canal  boats.  The  advan¬ 
tages  of  this  handling  by  mechanical  power,  and  the  cheap¬ 
ness  of  the  condensation  of  the  value  of  these  ponderous  ar¬ 
ticles  before  transhipment  to  the  more  expensive  conveyance 
by  canal  although  now  demonstrated,  will  only  be  fully  real¬ 
ized  when  the  price  of  the  cereal  products  are  again  reduced 
to  their  normal  lower  standard. 

Throughout  all  of  the  immense  grain  producing  regions  of 
the  West,  there  is  almost  no  water  power — and  steam  power 
is  too  expensive  to  be  generally  introduced  for  milling  pur¬ 
poses.  The  great  expense  of  land  transport  to  the  Railroads 
and  the  high  cost  of  carriage  upon  them,  compared  with  the 
extraordinary  cheapness  of  this  description  of  lake  transpor¬ 
tation,  will  compel  these  heavy  products  to  take  the  latter 
and  then  the  canals  to  market,  whenever  the  price  is  low,  and 
at  such  times  the  advantages  wrhich  Oswego  presents  for  hand¬ 
ling  and  condensing  their  weight  and  shortening  the  canal 
navigation,  will  bring  into  demand  the  entire  water  power  of 
the  lower  hydraulic  canals  at  Oswego.  For  these  reasons  it 
would  be  injudicious  to  locate  the  works  in  question  at  the 
lower  dam. 

RESUME. 

The  preceding  discursive  arguments  may  be  more  summa¬ 
rily  stated,  as  follows: 


29 


An  abundant  supply  of  pure  and  wholesome  water  is  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  health,  comfort  and  prosperity  of  a  city,  and  a 
public  work  furnishes  it  of  better  quality  at  less  cost  and 
with  greater  convenience,  than  it  can  be  obtained  by  individ¬ 
ual  efforts.  All  of  the  water  procurable  within  a  city,  by  wells 
and  cisterns,  is  impure  and  unfit  for  potation.  The  cost  of 
wells  and  cisterns,  reservoirs  and  pumps,  at  each  house  and 
the  labor  expended  in  raising  the  water  from  them,  is,  in  the 
aggregate  greater  than  the  cost  and  maintainance  of  an  equal 
public  supply,  while  the  ready  accessibility  and  ample  quan¬ 
tity  at  hand  at  all  times  of  a  well  arranged  public  supply  is 
a  preventive  against,  or  a  diminution  of,  the  damage  from 
fires,  equal,  in  the  long  run,  to  the  cost  of  the  works,  while 
an  abundant  use  of  water  by  the  poor,  as  well  as  the  rich, 
lessens  disease,  and  its  effect  in  increasing  settlements  and  in¬ 
vestments  amply  repay,  even  in  a  financial  view,  the  expen¬ 
diture. 

A  well  arranged  plan  of  a  public  water  supply,  however 
much  opposed  before  construction,  is  always  sure  to  prevail 
and  afterwards  secures  universal  approbation.  The  City  of 
Oswego  presents  unusual  facilities  for  procuring  a  bountiful 
supply  of  pure  and  wholesome  water,  at  a  small  outlay,  com¬ 
pared  with  other  cities,  of  greater  and  less  size,  which  have 
been  supplied. 

A  previous  examination  of  the  question  limits  the  supply 
to  two  sources,  viz:  from  Lake  Ontario  and  from  the  Oswego 
River,  both  of  which  require  the  use  of  mechanical  power  to 
elevate  the  water  into  reservoirs,  from  which  it  will  be  dis¬ 
tributed,  by  iron  or  cement  lined  pipes,  to  all  parts  of  the 
city.  The  former  requires  the  use  of  steam,  and  for  the  lat¬ 
ter  the  water  power  already  created  on  the  river,  will  be  used. 

The  Lake  plan  requires  a  costly  arrangement  to  obtain  the 
water,  free  from  the  impurities  along  the  shore  and  from  the 
river;  and  the  River  plans  contemplate  a  purification,  by  large 
settling  reservoirs,  and  both  plans  are  provided  with  a  dupli¬ 
cation  of  the  machinery,  reservoirs  and  distribution,  to  meet 
accidental  interruptions  and  maintain  an  ample  supply  at  all 


so 


times,  and  both  plans  are  also  arranged  for  an  enlargemei  t 
(without  loss  of  any  previous  expenditure)  for  treble  the  pres¬ 
ent  population. 

The  river  water  in  flowing  through  the  city,  becomes  con¬ 
taminated  with  sewage,  garbage,  and  the  refuse  matter  from 
manufactories  and  vessels,  which  the  winds  drive  along  shore 
after  they  enter  the  lake.  And  though  these  winds  pre¬ 
vail  from  the  West,  yet  they  blow  from  the  East  for  one-fourth 
of  the  time,  and  render  it  necessary  to  obtain  the  supply  from 
the  furthest  practicable  western  point. 

Large  reservoirs  as  near  the  centre  of  consumption  as  pos¬ 
sible  are  necessary  to  all  well  ananged  water  works,  and  par- 
ticularly  where  they  are  dependent  upon  mechanical  power. 
Such  reservoirs  become  invaluable  in  protracted  conflagrations, 
in  maintaining  t  lie  head  and  furnishing  an  ample  supply.  The 
reservoirs  proposed  will  contain  fifteen  millions  of  gallons  and 
are  arranged  for  an  enlargement,  to  bold  double  this  quantity. 
The  former,  if  economically  used,  will  last  a  month  of  ordi¬ 
nary  consumption.  The  use  of  two  reservoirs,  on  the  oppo¬ 
site  sides  of  the  river,  with  the  arrangement  of  the  mains  and 
stn  et  pipes,  will  permit  the  water  to  stand  and  settle  in  one 
while. it  is  being  used  from  the  other,  and  thus  purify  before 
distributing  it  for  use,  and  when  the  second  division  is  added 
to  the  reservoirs  it  will  allow  the  water  to  settle  and  purify 
for  a  mouth  or  six  weeks  before  it  is  used. 

The  distributing  pipes  will  bo  arranged  with  large  feeding 
mains  and  intermediate  pipes  of  smaller  size,  in  most  cases, 
however,  not  less  than  lour  inches  diameter.  The  city  will 
be  divided  into  six  water  districts,  from  each  of  which  the 
water  may  be  shut  oft’  without  in  ten  upting  the  supply  to  the 
others. 

fe.x  fire  hydrants  are  proposed  for  each  mile  of  pipe,  and 
they  wi  1 1  be  placed  at  every  alternate  Comer,  so  that  in  case 
of  tiro,  at  least  four  hydrants  will  be  accessible,  with  hose  of 
the  length  of  one  bl«  ck  The  plans  are  arranged  to  Imnish 
an  unusual  large  supply  of  wah  r,  viz:  seveuty-tive  gallons  to 
each  person,  and  tins  may  be  increased,  one-half,  by  the  ex- 


31 


pense  of  the  services  of  one  more  attendant;  and  then  again 
doubled  by  duplicating  the  pumping  machinery.  (In  the 
River  plans  at  an  outlay  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  dollars.) 

All  of  the  plans  provide  for  pumping  directly  into  the  dis¬ 
tributing  pipes  if  it  should  ever  be  necessary  to  give  more 
head  or  water  during  conflagrations,  or  when  from  any  cause 
the  water  in  either  reservoir  is  not  available.  In  such  cases 
the  head  of  water  in  the  street  pipes  may  be  increased  up  to 
the  power  and  strength  of  the.  pumping  machinery  and  pipes. 

To  meet  the  usual  objections,  prejudices,  and  fallacies,  in 
regard  to  the  sources  of  water  and  the  changes  which  it  un¬ 
dergoes,  a  disertation  of  some  length  on  this  branch  of  the 
subject  has  been  indulged  in,  and  an  application  of  I  he  re¬ 
ceived  laws  to  the  several  natural  waters,  accessible  to  the 
city,  has  been  made.  These  show  that  all  of  the  water  descends 
from  the  clouds  in  nearly  a  pure  state,  and  receives  its  con¬ 
taminations  from  the  gases  of  the  atmosphere,  the  dissolving 
substances  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  the  soluble  salts 
of  the  soil  below  the  surface. 

Rain  water,  though  elsewhere  comparatively  pure,  is  seri¬ 
ously  contaminated  when  collected  in  a  city,  and  is  not  an 
agreable  but  sometimes  an  unwholesome  beverage.  Well 
water  is  the  most  impure  of  any  of  the  natu?al  waters,  and 
in  cities  is  totally  unfit  for  drinking,  as  it  contains  the  solu¬ 
tions  of  sewage  from  privies  and  stables,  from  decaying  garb¬ 
age,  from  the  soil  long  saturated  with  the  above  solutions, 
and  from  an  impure  atmosphere  above  and  earthy  salts  be¬ 
low.  Examples  without  number  might  be  given  to  show  that 
disease  and  death  can  be  traced  directly  to  the  use  of  such 
water,  in  particular  cases  and  by  analogy,  that  they  are  al¬ 
ways  detrimental  to  health. 

Usually  brook  and  river  water  is  chemically  the  most  pure, 
though  they  contain  earthy  and  vegetable  matter  in  suspen¬ 
sion,  and  at  times  to  such  an  exteLt  as  to  render  them  unfit 
for  domestic  uses.  Natural  lakes,  receiving  such  water,  cause 
the  heavier  portions  of  the  suspended  matter  to  be  precipita¬ 
ted  aud  the  lighter,  floatiug  on  the  surface,  are  decomposed 


32 


and  exhale,  leaving  the  water  (in  its  most  pure  natural  con¬ 
dition.  Artificial  reservoirs,  such  as  those  proposed  for  the 
Oswego  water  works,  will  perform  the  same  service  as  the 
natural  lakes  in  the  purification  of  the  water  which  is  placed 
in  them,  and  their  depth  and  volume  will  keep  such  water  at 
a  more  equable  temperature — cooler  in  summer  and  warmer 
in  winter,  than  the  river  water  in  its  natural  channel. 

If  the  lake  water  could  be  procured  from  a  considerable 
distance  out  in  the  lake,  at  a  reasonable  expense,  it  would 
furnish  it  at  all  times  of  a  quality  superior,  for  all  purposes, 
to  the  river  water,  although  it  is  said  that  the  latter  is  the 
softest.  As  the  case  will  not  warrant  the  large  expenditure 
necessary  to  procure  lake  water  a  mile  from  the  shore,  the 
comparison  must  be  made  with  that  which  can  be  obtained 
within  a  reasonable  distance,  and  where  it  will  be  more  or  less 
contaminated  by  the  river  and  shore.  The  analyses  of  the 
waters  from  all  the  large  lakes,  show  them  to  be  very  pure 
away  from  these  influences,  but  near  them  to  be  not  superior 
to  the  river  waters  when  not  disturbed  by  floods.  The  water 
shed  of  the  Oswego  Eiver  is  such  as  to  afford  a  good  quality 
of  river  water,  and  the  numerous  lakes  forming  its  sources 
are  self-purifiers,  while  the  short  water  courses  to  the  main 
river  are  not  likely  to  contaminate  these  pure  lake  waters 
more  than  will  be  removed  by  the  subsidence  in  the  reservoirs. 
The  waters  of  the  Oswego  Eiver  thus  purified,  will,  for  all 
purposes  of  the  city,  be  equal  to  such  lake  water  as  can  be 
procured  at  a  reasonable  expense,  and  the  cost  of  construction 
and  maintain ance  of  the  w’orks  from  the  former  being  so  much 
less  than  the  latter,  compel  me  to  recommend  the  selection  of 
one  of  the  Eiver  plans. 

The  present  and  future  occupation  of  the  whole  of  the  wa¬ 
ter  power,  from  the  lower  dam,  for  milling  and  elevating  pur¬ 
poses,  is  so  essential  to  the  commercial  interests  of  Oswego, 
that  it  is  believed  a  majority  of  the  citizens  would  prefer  to  in¬ 
cur  the  small  extra  expense  of  the  water  works  at  the  upper 
dam,  rather  than  to  abstract  the  power  necessary  from  the 
lower  dam. 


33 


In  view  of  the  preceding  arguments,  I  would  recommend 
for  adoption  River  Plan  No.  3,  locating  the  pumping  works 
on  the  East  or  the  West  end  of  the  upper  dam,  as  may  he 
found  most  advantageous,  and  with  two  reservoirs  as  proposed, 
near  Carrington  Hill  or  Lawrence  Park  on  the  one  side,  and 
near  Reservoir  Square  or  the  Asylum  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river — where  the  land  can  he  obtained  on  the  best  terms. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

WM.  J.  McALPINE. 

P.  S. — I  have  prepared  the  foregoing  estimates  from  detail¬ 
ed  drawings  of  all  of  the  parts  of  the  several  plans.  When¬ 
ever  the  project  is  adopted,  I  will  copy  these  plans  for  work¬ 
ing  drawings,  and  can  also  furnish  specifications,  so  that  the 
work  may  be  executed  by  any  Engineer  whom  you  may  then 
select. 


5 


34 


TABLE* 

Of  the  length  and  sizes  of  the  pipes  proposed  to  be  laid  in 
in  the  Streets  on  the  Lake  plan: 


IN  STREET. 

rnoM. 

TO. 

LENGTH  OF  EACH  SIZE. 

10  IN. 

8  IN. 

6  IN. 

4  IN. 

3  IN. 

Reservoir  ... 
3d . 

Main. 

900 

7th,  East.... 
9th  to  4th,  E. 
4th . 

8th _ 

Main. 

1,900 

300 

. 1 

Utica,. .1 . 

8th,  West  ... 
6th  to  9th,  W 
2d.  East _ 

do 

900 

1,200 

1,200 

600 

Oneida, _  _ 

Bridge, .... _ _ _ ....  .... 

10th,  East... 
3d . 

12th,  West.. 

3,600 

2,700 

Cayuga, _ 

4th,  West _ 

600 

2,400 

Seneca,  - 

1st _ _ _ 

12th,  do  ... 

900| 

Schuyler,  ... 

9th . 

1st,  East.... 

. 

2,400 

Van  Burcn, _ ..... _ ... _ 

5th . i 

8th,  West  ... 

900 

Bronson, _ ..... _ _ _ _ 

6th . 1 

8th,  do  ... 

600 

Mitchell-....  < 
Schuyler  .... 
do  .... 

do 

do  .... 

do  .... 

Oneida _ 

Mohawk  *...! 

•3,600 

Ninth,  Eighth  and  Third,  East, 
Seventh,  East _ 

Bridge _ _ 

4,500 

Lawrence  ... 

3,000 

1,000 

2,500 

4,000 

Sixth,  do _  _ 

Mohawk _ 

Fifth,  do . 

Lawrence _ 

Fourth,  do  _  _____ 

Utica _ 

1,500 

1,500 

Third,  do  ........... _ 

Cochrane. _ i 

2,800 

1,800 

Second,  do _ ....... _ .... 

Schuyler  .... 

do  .... 

Lake _ 

do  .... 

1,500 

1.500 

4.500 

1,500 

500 

900 

First,  do _ _ _ _ 

Albany,  half 
Varick _ _ _ ' 

First,  West _ _  _ 

800 

5,000 

3,500 

Second,  do _ 

Van  Buren.. 
Lake _ _ _ 

Niagara  ..  ..  i 

Third.  do _  _ 

1  Albany  _ _ i 

800 

1,000 

600 

300 

Fourth,  do _ _ _ .... 

do . i 

Niagara..  ..| 
do  ..  .. 1 

1,500 

3,000 

Fifth,  do _ 

do . 

5,000 

4,000 

Sixth,  do  .  . 

Seneca  . .  _ 

do  ..  .. 

Seventh,  do _ __ 

Hn 

do  ..  ~| 

I  "R  ridge  _  1 

Main. 

2,500 

Eighth,  do  _ 

do  . 

do 

1,000 

Lawrence,  East, . 

5th . 

7th,  East.... 

600 

Total  feet,  87,200  ;  miles,  16£. 

i  3,000 

4,500 

28,300 

34,400 

17,000 

it,**' 


TABLE 

Of  the  elevations  in  feet,  or  the  head  of  water  above  the  level 
of  the  lake,  in  the  street  pipes,  at  the  intersection  of  the 
following  streets,  showing  the  head  when  the  pumps  are  in 
operation,  and  in  the  next  column  the  head  is  derived  from 
the  reservoir  when  the  pumps  are  not  in  operation — upon 
the  Lake  plan. 

These  calculations  of  head  are  based  upon  a  draft  or  con¬ 
sumption  of  water  at  the  rate  of  one  and  a  half  millions  of 
gallons  daily,  distributed  according  to  the  population.  If  the 

♦Note.— The  above  was  arranged  for  the  Lake  plan  and  would  be  modified  for  the  two  River 
plans. 


consumption  of  any  particular  district  is  more  or  less  than 
this  amount,  the  head  will  be  universally  less  or  more  in  pro¬ 
portion. 


table.  * 


THE  LAKE  PLANS. 

NIAGARA,  1 
FROM 

UTICA, 

PROM 

BRIDGE, 

FROM 

j  SCHUYLER, 
FROM 

First  Street, 

West  Side, - 

Pumps. 

180 

Res’rs.  | 
176  1 

Pumps. 

180 

Res’rs. 

178 

Pumps. 

203 

Res’rs. 

176 

IPumps. 

I  215 

Res’rs. 

175 

Fourth  do 

do  , 

182 

177  ! 

185 

178 

203 

176 

|  216 

176 

Eighth  do 

do  .... 

184 

179 

192 

178 

204 

177  | 

|  216 

177 

First  do 

East  Side, _ 

... 

176 

145 

175 

144 

;  174 

143 

Fourth  do 

do  .... 

171 

148 

172 

149 

168 

145  ! 

j  167 

144 

Seventh  do 

do  ....! 

160 

160  ! 

167 

154 

164 

151  ; 

|  161 

148 

Upon  the  River  Plans  the  pumps  will  generally  be  run  to 
give  180  feet  head  above  the  lake  at  the  Asylum  Hill,  and 
this  will  give,  to  all  parts  of  the  West  division,  the  same 
head  as  is  stated  in  the  above  table,  as  derived  from  the  res¬ 
ervoir,  and  to  all  parts  of  the  East  division  an  elevation, 
while  the  pumps  are  working,  of  just  twenty  feet  higher  than 
the  above  table  shows,  as  derived  from  the  reservoirs.  When 
the  pumps  are  not  running,  and  the  head  is  derived  from  the 
reservoirs,  and  the  cock  in  the  connecting  pipe  between  the 
two  city  divisions  is  shut,  the  head  in  both  divisions  will  be 
the  same  as  given  in  the  above  table  as  derived  from  the  res¬ 
ervoirs. 


#Note.— If,  from  the  figures  given  in  this  table,  are  deducted  the  level  of  the  respective  in¬ 
tersections  of  the  streets,  above  the  lake,  it  will  show  the  head  of  water  in  the  pipes  above 
the  streets,  as  by  the  following  table  furnished  by  John  McNair,  City  Surveyor  : 


NIAGARA. 

UTICA. 

BRIDGE. 

- Z2SE 

SCHUYLER. 

First  Street, 

West  Side,.... 

Pumps. 

144 

Res’rs. 

140 

Pumps. 

125 

Res’rs. 

125 

Pumps. 

182 

Res’rs. 

155 

Pumps. 

204 

Res’rs. 

164 

Fourth  do 

do  .... 

111 

106 

130 

123 

151 

124 

183 

143 

Eighth  do 

do  .... 

62 

57 

129 

115 

132 

105 

134 

95 

First  do 

East  Side,.— - 

_ 

... 

114 

83 

144 

113 

170 

139 

Fourth  do 

do  .... 

... 

66 

43 

120 

97 

118 

95 

Seventh  do 

do  .... 

— 

27 

14 

130 

117 

117 

104 

36 


TABLE 

Of  the  comparative  impurity  of  water  furnished  by  a  public 
supply  and  that  obtained  from  wells  in  cities,  reduced  to 
the  number  of  grains  of  solid  matter  contained  in  one  gal¬ 
lon. 


CITY. 

FROM 

WELLS. 

PUBLIC  SUPPLY. 

London, _ 

Lambeth, 

_ 110  grs 

Thames.  20  to  28 

do 

St.  Giles 

. . 105 

Sea,  _ 

24 

do  _ ... _ _ _ 

St,.  Paul’s.  . 

T'J’ ew  Pi  vorj 

19 

Manchester, . ....  ........ 

Several,  (averaae.  1  84 

Rain  w  ater, _ 

TSTpw  V nrk, _ 

Manhattan. 

125 

Croton,  .  5  to 

n 

do  _ 

Several.  ( average  'i  58 

Brooklyn, ............... 

Smith  street. 

77 

Long  Is.  Streams, 

3 

do  ....  .... .... _ 

Several.  Cavnra  ae. 'i  49 

Albany, _ _ _ 

Exchange, 

. 65 

Fatroon’s  Creek, .. 

5 

do  _T _ _ 

Canitol. _ 

Hudson  River, _ 

6 

do  . 

Old  State  House.  36 

Mohawk, _ .... 

8 

Boston,....  ....  ......... 

Beacon  Hill, 

,  50 

Cochi tnate, -  .. 

2 

do  _ _  ....  .... _ 

Tremont, _ 

. 26 

dn  __  _  _  - 

Long  Acre, 

. 57 

Hartford, _ _ _ _ 

Averae-e. 

_ 70 

Philadelphia, _ ...... 

Schuylkill,  ....... 

4 

"Washington,  ...... 

Average, 

. 16 

Potomac, _ _ 

6 

Rochester, _ _ _ ........ 

Several, _ 

..26  to  41 

Lakes, _ 1  to 

4 

Cleveland, _ _ _ 

do  . 

.28  to  79 

Cuyahoga  River, .. 

6 

Detroit, _ _  ............. 

Park. _ 

_ 116* 

Detroit  River, .... 

6 

Cincinnati, . . . 

Brewery  Spring,..  35t 

Ohio  River,. . . 

AHALYST. 


gra 


Brande. 

do 

do 


Smith. 

Chilton. 

do 

do 

do 

Emmons. 

do 

do 

Silliman. 


Silliman. 

do 

Torrey. 

Anonymous. 

Mather. 

Douglas. 

ILocke. 


Professor  Palmer,  of  Cleveland,  says:  “  Cholera  was  more 
“  fatal  in  that  city  in  those  districts  where  well  water  was 
“  used,  although  the  most  high  and  apparently  the  most 
“  healthy.  The  lower  districts,  containing  such  quantities  of 
“  surface  water  and  filth  as  entirely  to  preclude  the  use  of 
“  well  water,  were  supplied  with  water  from  the  lake  by  carts, 
“  and  were  comparatively  free  from  this  disease/' 

Professor  Douglas  says:  “I  am  fully  of  the  opinion  that 
“  the  fearful  ravages  of  cholera  in  that  city  (Sandusky)  may 
“be,  in  a  great  measure,  attributed  to  the  use  of  impure  wa¬ 
iter,  (from  wells).  *  *  *  A  careful  examination  would 

“probably  show  that,  during  the  prevalence  of  cholera  (in 
“  Detroit)  that  disease  was  more  fatal  and  prevailed  to  a 
“  greater  extent  among  those  using  the  water  of  wells,  than 
“among  those  in  the  habitual  use  of  the  river  water.  *  ° 

“  Wells  dug  in  large  towns  may  be  considered  the  most  im- 

ote. —Doctor  Terry  says  that  the  use  «rf  the  water  from  this  well  in  1850,  caused  the 
death  of  seven  persons,  and  the  serious  sickness  of  several  more,  and  that  no  sickness  ensued 
in  the  neighborhood  after  they  changed  to  the  use  of  river  water. 

f  “  This  spring,”  says  Prof.  Locke,  “  produced  fatal  cholera  in  all  persons  who  used  it  du- 
“  ring  the  prevalence  of  the  epidemic  in  the  city.  *  *  *  It  ia  admirably  adapted  to  act 

“  as  the  aid  of  epidemic  in  its  hostility  to  human  life.” 


37 


“  pure  water  in  use.  *  *  *  Rain  water,  as  ordinarily  se- 

“  cured,  is  far  more  deleterious  than  any  water  in  use.  I  do 
“  not  hesitate  to  say  that  rain  water,  collected  in  the  ordinary 
“  mode,  used  as  a  habitual  drink,  must  prove  highly  injurious 
“to  health.” 

Professor  Smith  repeatedly  analyzed  the  rain  water  which 
fell  in  Manchester,  and  frequently  found  it  alkaline.  It  never 
gave  less  than  0.001  per  cent,  (half  a  grain  to  a  gallon)  of 
organic  matter,  and  frequently  0.0027  per  cent,  of  chlorine,  and 
0.0034  per  cent,  of  sulphuric  acid,  (4.27  grains  to  the  gallon). 

Professor  Hoffman,  in  his  testimony  before  a  Committee  of 
Parliament,  says  that,  “  a  thousand  gallons  of  water,  at  the 
“the  ordinary  temperature,  will  dissolve  as  follows: 

46  gallons  of  oxygen; 


25 

do 

nitrogen; 

2,500 

do 

sulphuretted  hydrogen; 

1,000 

do 

carbonic  acid; 

500,000 

do 

ammonia.” 

Professor  Clark,  who  has  studied  this  subject  more  than 
any  man  in  England,  before  the  same  Committee,  says:  “  The 
“  waters  of  lakes  and  rivers  have  a  tendency  to  purify  them- 
“  selves  spontaneously,  by  natural  processes.  *  *  *  There 
“is  a  natural  vegetating  process,  that  goes  on  very  readily, 
“  freeing  the  water  from  vegetable  matter,  a  spontaneous  veg- 
“  etation,  and  in  its  progress,  a  purification  of  the  water  takes 
“  place  universally.  This  process  (in  water  in  large  masses,) 
“  is  probably  that  which  also  takes  away  the  coloring  matter 
“from  water.  Any  process  which  throws  down  the  solid 
“  matter,  sends  down  also  the  diffused  dirty  matter.  So,  like- 
“  wise,  in  my  process  of  precipitating  chalk  by  lime-water, 
“  what  falls,  is  colored  differently  from  the  chalk;  the  coloring 
“  matter  has  been  carried  down  with  the  latter.” 


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